Tag Archives: beach body

Sometimes your mind spins in a million directions throughout the day as you take in one seemingly improbably event after another. You think to yourself: “Damn, this is gonna’ make a great blog post when I sit down to write it!”

You’re not sure if you can’t prioritize or perhaps you’re thinking back and realizing it only seemed funny to you. Sure, that cat who was minding its business on the couch in the waiting room of your doctor’s office should not have been slapped by that child who should not have been there and is probably a satanist. Wait a minute, that actually is funny. You think back again. Perhaps you hesitate because you can’t remember and you start to feel like Julianne Moore in Still Alice. If you haven’t seen it, don’t worry. Spoiler alert: she battles Alzheimers Disease throughout the flick.

Tonight I hesitate for one reason. I don’t know that you’ll believe the things I’m about to share. But hesitation is only good for a moment then it becomes angry and spiteful not unlike Christina Aguilera. Oh well, here goes…

I cut the cord!

Our microwave broke right before Thanksgiving. It was three weeks outside of the warranty. Lowe’s wouldn’t touch it. An appliance reply lady said it would be cheaper to buy a new one. We’ve been using a borrowed microwave from my wife’s aunt. The woman actually has at least two of everything you could ever need in her house. She lives alone and does not know how to use most of her things. I contacted General Electric where I received some of the best customer care I’ve had in a long time. A service rep informed me that they would essentially pay us for the full cost of that microwave. All I had to do was peel a sticker off the inside. Oh, and I had to provide proof of purchase. Done and done. Oh, and I had to cut the cord off the microwave and send a picture of it. Rachel at GE did not explain this one to me very well, nor even exactly what kind of picture she wanted. I experimented before settling on the picture you see here. On closer review, perhaps I was not supposed to pose with the cord? Why bring this up now? Well, after emailing the pictures to GE I got another reply from them that they had not received the pictures. Turns out the email was still in my drafts folder. No, I did not take new pictures. Yes, the check is on its way. Go GE! You bring good things to life.

Limey, you’re a terrible friend.

I had friends over this past Saturday and decided to get creative with my bar. Say hello to Mr. Limey. He’s British, naturally. I thought the evening went beautifully until my wife informed me after our guests had gone home that I was a little drunk. Limey was supposed to see to it that I kept it classy. Bastard. He hate me because I’m also Irish. The next day my wife changed her words a bit to say that I wasn’t “drunk just talkative”. I’m not sure which is worse. My apologies to my guests that night. I thought we had a good time.

My workout is going very well (I think). I’m on week 3 of BodyBeast. This is the first phase and it’s called “Build”. The next six weeks after this are called “Bulk”. Then the final three weeks are called “Beast”. I don’t like to brag – because there’s precious little I can honestly brag about – but somehow I was blessed with calves the size of Howitzers. Think I can skip leg day and continue to work on my pathetic chest? I think that’s a distinct plan. Seriously, though, calves? I only know one person who says “Man I wish I had calves like yours” and he’s a trainer. I’m also never sure when he’s pulling my leg. No one walks around saying “Gotta’ get huge calves!”

Thanks, God. Couldn’t have made this my biceps?

Finally, it is Ash Wednesday. Or at least it was until an hour and five minutes ago. At midnight on the dot, this Daddy went straight to the fridge. As a Catholic, Ash Wednesday is one of our two fasting days. I’ve gone days in my life where I’ve eaten less. But when someone tells you that you can’t eat; that’s when you want food. Also, I’ve been up around 3000 calories a day on this BodyBeast diet. To drop down to almost nothing really was painful. Thank God a day is just a day.

And thank you for reading this far. I’m off to bed. I’m sure there are many more bizarre events to happen for me tomorrow. Don’t hesitate to share this post with others.

You (both of you) have been eagerly awaiting an update on my new workout so I’d like to take a moment to share.

Actually, my mind is a jumbled mess right now so I’d like to take a lot of moments to share (and sort) a lot of things. Indulge me? Look, I’ve been through a lot lately. Consider it your work of mercy.

If I didn’t blog, how would you ever see fun pics like this?

At work today where I joyfully bounced around between the spiritual battle raging all round us as relayed in Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters and the concept of authentic freedom as being something wholly different than license; the subject of this blog came up. I don’t hide my blog from my students but I sure don’t advertise it either. “If you can find it, you can read it,” I tell them. I just like to keep things by and large separate on this one front as I feel I can be more authentically free that way. A student asked “So why do you blog?” I thought about it and said “I blog because I need to.”

The truth is that I do love to write. As I said to my trainer-friend recently “Some men can move heavy weights around. I play with words.” Looking back I truly hope he didn’t take that as an insult as I always wanted to be able to one of the former and I greatly admire men like him who actually can move heavy weights around. Weightlifting gives you an enviable body. Writing can, well, let’s talk about that…

I write because I am a twin. Sound odd? OK, I was born, in all likelihood, speaking a secret language that only one other person understood. So I spent the next few decades trying out different forms of communication to get my message across to a larger audience. That period of monosyllabic grunts was kind of awkward for sure.

No?

OK. Here it is. I write because I love to write. I don’t know who reads it and I don’t always care. After my dad died I got a comment on a post about his funeral. A woman said she had been reading for years and felt that she knew me and wanted to convey her sympathy. I was touched. I have never met her but we have a connection. Words, you could say, are sacramental. They make real in the physical world that which is invisible — namely our thoughts. And when we write we are committing our souls to posterity. It might not ever be very good writing but a piece of my mind and heart will live on as long as there are eyes to see it. I have seen this so clearly over the past two months while reading The Chronicles of Narnia to my son at bedtime. I have become enthralled with these books, with Lewis. I said to my son: “How amazing to think that this man wrote these books so long ago. He’s dead but the thoughts in his mind are still speaking to us. His brilliance lives. The soul lives.”

To me, it’s fun. I know what I’m capable of. It is probably the only area of my life where I feel any measure of confidence.

I certainly don’t always feel that confidence in the gym (or the home gym as the case may be). And that’s where we end for this post. Did you really think I’d ramble on for 2500 words about a mess of different subjects with no underlying theme? Ha. Guess again.

I was just thinking about some diet and exercise related things this evening…

I mowed my lawn tonight. So it turns out “trainer” is a pretty decent guy. I think we already knew that. but tonight he confirmed it for me. I am about to embark on a major business trip and needed to get the lawn mowed before I leave. Unfortunately my mower decided this was the perfect time to quit on me. I texted “trainer” and asked if I could borrow his.

My mom, in particular, used to say to me “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” She was good with pithy maxims like that. She also used to call me by my dead brother’s name but who’s counting. She did, however, reverse half of that statement when she also taught that we should always give of ourselves. So I guess she didn’t really go back on her words so much considering that giving of ourselves is not lending if we don’t expect a return. Now I’m confused.

Anyway, my friend the “trainer” texted back in the affirmative. Now I am always mindful of a friend’s kindness. If I ever need to catch a ride with someone even if he’s going to the same place already I fill up his car. If I drop by for a visit I bring a bottle of wine. I never want my mom to think she didn’t raise me right. More to the point, it’s just the right thing to do since nothing is owed to me. It’s my way of saying “Hey, you were incredibly kind and generous with your things. It made my day easier. I treated your mower better than my own. Here’s a little something for your trouble.”

So I was thinking about the word incredible for some reason. I think that’s because it’s how I would describe this 21 Day Fix program I’m on. By the way, I’m closing in on 21 days and it’s going well, I think. The incredible thing about the diet portion is that I finished this day with three proteins left! That means that I, who ate well and was not hungry all day, should have eaten even more. Incredible!

Then I was thinking about the exercise portion. In 30 minutes each night for just shy of three weeks I’ve been able to dramatically reshape my appearance. I’m not talking about massive gains in size or a total beach body just yet. In fact I’m still leery of taking my shirt off at the beach this summer. That could be because I have a perception of myself that might not match reality. That’s another story. But my waist has gotten smaller. That’s a start. Incredible, right?

Then there’s the “trainer” himself. I thought this was kind of funny. On Sunday I had a chance to meet two of his brothers. The three of them along with Mrs. “trainer” and two of their kids had just completed one of those obstacle-laden mud races the day before. Wouldn’t you know that, standing in their presence, I realized that I was in the kitchen of the “Incredibles”. Seriously it’s like a family who live to one-up each other in the “I’m more shredded than you” game. And I think that’s, honestly, incredible. Truly. I kind of wish I’d had brothers growing up who would have engaged in a little friendly competition and camaraderie to help each other reach our goals. So I actually have seven brothers but none of them would have engaged in that kind of camaraderie with me. Incredible, I know.

So thank you, “trainer”. Thanks for the mower and allowing me to invite myself in for a glass of wine. You know you were hoping I would anyway. And thanks for the inspiration. I’ve got a summer of travel ahead of me and I hope I won’t fall too far off the wagon. If I do, maybe you guys could adopt me.

Hello children… Remember, I’m writing these pages for you? One day in the future you’ll read this and either think you’re dad was crazy in a funny way or just plain crazy. Either way, I hope you get a laugh.

Lately I’ve been worried about a few things. When you read this I hope you appreciate that there were times (usually after I had put you to bed) where I wasn’t always smiling, laughing, and having fun. I always have fun when you two are with me and as long as I remind myself of you when you’re not then I can be happy again.

First, I’ve been in a bit of physical pain of late. Remember that I saw the dentist the other day? Well, your dad has a problem with pain. The thing is I really want to be able to accept it with all the bravery and flint-faced determination of a first century martyr. The only problem is that I lack the will. I want so much to take on the suffering that Our Lord offers me and offer it up to Him– to share in the pain of Christ on the cross — but at the first hint of discomfort I can’t help but make my misery known. This time it’s my jaw that’s sore from being propped open for three hours while the doctor did my root canal. It will get better, I know; but that’s little consolation here and now. Fortunately, you two make me laugh so much that I don’t think you’ll ever see the pain in my eyes, thus lending to your impression of me as Superman.

This is what we're told to glorify.

Speaking of Superman, I want you to promise me that you will never become self-obssessed. It’s serves no one any good. A few years ago I started lifting weights. I started because I wanted to improve my health after recovering from my spinal surgery. I found that I enjoyed it. But somewhere along the line I crossed paths with a sickening mentality that I needed to be perfect in my physical appearance. The laughable thing to anyone who’s seen me in person is that this notion is as unachievable as one hoping to see a cat pilot an airplane or waiting for Christina Aguiliera to release a decent album. God I hate our culture.

Your mom and I are planning our summer road trip. Every time she mentions a stop at a beach or anywhere with a pool I am overcome with a sense of fear that goes way back to a specific moment in my childhood. I remember the moment so clearly. Someone called me fat. At the age of nine I did not have the presence of mind to tell him to get bent and so I carried that with me all these years. Isn’t that silly? Yet I still loathe the idea of being seen without a shirt. People have some pretty crazy fears, kids. Now, that one I was telling you about clowns? That one’s very real. Clowns are psychotic. That’s a fact. It’s right to be scared of them.

Last night I posted a “status” on a thing called “Facebook”. It was a social tool that people used to use to share the boring details of their lives with hundreds of people who probably didn’t care. I’m sure you have something like it in the future. This status simply said “Oh how I wish I had gone into a real profession.” Well, there’s a lot of truth to that kids. I did not post it for the sympathetic reactions of my friends although they are very thoughtful and appreciated. I certainly hope that by the time you get around to reading this I had figured out a way to earn some real money. You know I really enjoy what I do as a teacher. I love it for all the same reasons I loved working in TV production. I’ve always enjoyed finding things out and then sharing them with others. Plus, I get to be like a little celebrity in my classroom. The kids all love me. They laugh at my jokes. There is a genuine affection that I truly appreciate. But affection and adulation don’t pay the bills and I’ve always wondered how our lives would have been different if I had taken a different job years ago.

World class, all right...

I know, I would never have been in the lives of those few thousand kids and they wouldn’t have been in mine either. That’s a sad thought. Promise me that you’ll choose your paths wisely so you never know the agony of disappointment in yourself. Better yet, promise me you’ll pray every day that God will show you the path He created for you. There may well not be any money on that road and it may be filled with potholes; but I guarantee it will lead to happiness and true peace. I just don’t know if I’m on my path or His right now.

So tomorrow morning when I get up at 5:30 to go lift weights (knowing I won’t see any real results) and then go off to teach the faith (knowing that I definitely won’t see any real results) I’m just going to think of the both of you. I’m going to look at your pictures at my desk all day long and smile because they remind me that I’ve done at least a couple of things right with my life and because they give me such hope.

Harvey’s Cast of Characters

New to my blog? Wondering who all these people are whom I so lovingly mention from time to time? Here's a handy guide to the characters in Harvey's universe!

Harvey: That's your's truly. Not my real name. I'm a faithful Catholic, husband, father, teacher, former TV producer, and writer who's just trying to make a difference in this little piece of earth I call home. I have a penchant for coffee, disco, gin, and anything fun.

Mrs. Harvey: My lovely wife since 2007. Why she married me, I'll never know; but I'm sure glad she did. Love of my life, mother of my children... She puts up with me, expecting nothing in return. So far, she's gotten a pretty good return on her investment.

Baby Girl: Our seven year-old daughter. She has my eyes, my heart, and my birthday (even to the exact minute!). Loves girly things, her brother, and expressing herself artistically. Takes after her dad in appearance but that doesn't seem to have affected her beauty. Reason #2 I'm in awe of my siring capabilities.

(My) Mom: Amazing woman who brought me into the world. Doesn't get to visit us much in person due to trans-continental distance but she and I speak via FaceTame almost every day. A native New Yorker, she and I laugh at the same twisted things. If you like this blog, thank her. She knows her kids and encouraged me to write years ago.

Wilma: OK, so that's her real name. Texas born and bred, Wilma is my mother-in-law, cancer-warrior, prayer partner, drinking buddy, and one of the most genuinely awesome human beings on the planet.

le.Rheims: My baby sister and fellow blogger. She writes far better than I do and never lets me forget it. She prefers to be known as a well-known socialite and composer of light verse but I think sister, wife, and mother of 8 suits her better.

Praise From Other Bloggers!

Harvey is a funny, witty and interesting read. Want to know what's going on in the world of Harvey? Then make a point to subscribe to his blog! You just never know when those pesky Weebles will show up. Hmmm, speaking of Weebles - haven't heard from them in a while (wink). Seriously, you just never know what to expect and whatever you find, it never disappoints! -- Debbi Robertson @ Photos and Facets

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